I can definitely make it again, and possibly one other person. I would prefer the 3rd or the tenth.

A company (not really a company, but just some random dickhead in Texas who has never made or sold a product) calling itself Anascape claims patents on analog stick and rumble technology (along with many other technologies used in game controllers) used in the Wii Gamecube controller, Wavebird, and Classic Controller. This little shit company sued Nintendo, and won. Now they are calling for a ban of nintendo's GC and Classic controllers, and Nintendo is trying to postpone or avoid that. Wii-Motes, however, are in no danger at all, and Analscope (as I will now refer to them) has no valid patent claims on Wii-mote technology (though it tried).

How can you claim a patent on analog stick technology? It's used in almost every modern R/C transmitter and game controller!

August:



[url=http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25203] 16th [CA] G.L.U.E.D.O.M.E.S./url]

Yes I lubed it, but the plunger head is largely wood. Wood doesn't lube terribly well.

I'd be more worried about lubing the rubber part, rather than the wood itself. The wood shouldn't even be contacting the PVC - the O-ring should be the only point of contact.

Unless you wanna be cool and add pulleys to help pull your plunger rod (Not actually suggested)

Actually, that's not a bad idea. If you could implement a block-and-tackle system correctly, you could make the blaster really easy to cock, while keeping a 3" diameter PT.

Also, the O-ring on your plunger head may be the problem. In order to get O-rings to create a perfect or near-perfect seal, they have to be large enough to solidly contact the walls of the tube. This creates quite a bit of friction, even with lubricant, in most cases. A better option would be a skirt or U-cup.

Roboman is working on something along the lines but running into issues with the nerf wiring controls. Your best bet is to pm him.

I just picked the wrong transistors for the job, and the PCB trace widths are too narrow to handle the current. The boards should still work, but may not be as reliable as I'd like. Expect more progress on that when I get back to school.



This is the schematic, for reference. It's a 555 configured as a 1-shot timer with 3 selectable delays.

It's possible, yes. You might want to put a washer under the screw's head. Just make sure it's not long enough that it tries to push the pin out of the plastic.

It's not generally an easy fix. You basically want to get some sort of an adhesive between the pin and the rubber part (super glue works, if I recall correctly), but in order to do that without getting that glue on the sealing face, you typically have to open up the tank. You might be better off just replacing the tank, if you can get a spare from someone. I've actually been having this same issue with the latest batch of 2K tanks, and I'm really not sure why.

Reduced-diameter shank drills like that are generally called Silver and Deming drills. Shars has them for super cheap, and they're single piece high speed steel. Link They've also got a bunch of other super inexpensive tools that work great if you're not in a production shop, like taps and stuff (and a huge selection of endmills and lathe cutters for those of you with fancier tools).

You could easily replace most of that steel plunger rod with aluminum, particularly if you turned it so two aluminum pieces threaded into a steel catch piece.

I also strongly suggest you try 4568T14 as a barrel material. The tolerances are much tighter, it's hard anodized (pretty), and 6063 is actually really nice to turn, if you have carbide tooling to break the anodized layer. The hole is also held concentric to the OD, unlike CPVC or the other common aluminum barrel material from McMaster. I use 6" of each on my aluminum barrels, press-fit together, and it works like a charm.

You could also invest a little in some Mother's aluminum polish and spin your parts up to 1500-2000 RPM on a lathe, then hold a piece of a paper towel with polish on it against the part, as you would with emery cloth. It gives an almost mirror finish. Automotive wax will protect that finish and prevent oxidation.

As pointed out by both Robo and Beaver, plunger mass will make a huge difference in performance. There are many reasons that the majority of us continue to use primarily plastics in our modifications and homemades. I suggest acetal/delrin for the rod and priming handle.
As for the machinations within this infernal device.... Some of you may remember that I run the office of an auto shop, and have for ten years now. This has made clear, simply through observation, which engineering designs make sense and which don't. Aluminum is an excellent material for construction, but not when in moving contact with other materials. It may take a while, and I may be overreacting because of that, but those parts will wear upon each other over time.

Actually, the wear can be massively reduced if the parts are polished, waxed and lubricated. That's exactly what I'm doing to my aluminum xbow catches, to prevent excessive wear on plastic parts.

That is and idea, to thread a steel piece in. I will try to suck every bit of efficiency else where first, but I'll remember this. Heavy plunger rods never help.

I am only using HSS bits. I have heard that if you get under the layer in one pass, any bit will work. Is this true?



The catch does work extremely well. It takes up very little space and isn't prone to breaking at all. Since the catch lays flat against the spring rest, that takes all the force from both sides, which makes for a VERY sturdy build. Spring pushes against one side and catch against the other.

I would actually look into lightening the plunger rod first, as you'll see a huge performance jump if you do.

Yeah, you can do that, and the layer is only about .003" thick. 6063 is a little gummier than 6061, particularly since it's not T6-51 or T6-511. You really should look into a small set of indexable carbide tools, they're available for $50 or so, and worth every penny.

Now I have read of people getting 90ft. flat with a dead-space and barrel replacements.

<sarcasm>
Because everything you read on the internet is the truth, and nothing but the truth.
</sarcasm>

I've never had a BBB go farther than 60-70 ft. Like you, I perform only basic mods (dead space reduction, new barrel, coupler, etc.), and I've never had one that was absolutely amazing.

I'm sure one could get better ranges, in fact, I've seen much better ranges from BBBs. However, without replacing the spring, there's not much that can be done to break ~70'.

Definitely coming, and I might have some cool stuff to sell.

Honestly, $17.60 isn't a bad price for what you're asking. In fact, that's probably about as cheap as you'll be able to go - even I would charge more than that to make what you're looking for.

Is the 1/2 PVC supposed to move?

Just for reference, here is the Adjustable Air Flow Control Valve - http://www.automatio...Straight)/FVU14 and here is the Topeak pump - http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B000FICBEU .

Note: The Air Flow Control Valve is for 1/4" OD tubing.

This one much less expensive, FYI.

It doesn't really matter. Either way you're wasting money. Wishing will never make it a pressure regulator.

Bob, it doesn't need to be. All you need is something to restrict the flow into the tank, so you don't dump your entire bladder with one shot. The bladder will maintain a constant pressure on its own.

For the 3K? Probably not, I already have a deal going for one.

Do these fit in the space where the stock Air Tech 200o airtank was? I'm guessing they do but you'd know for sure.

They're supposed to. I messed up on this one and made it 1/16" longer than it should be, so it doesn't fit.
However, I made one today that does fit, but the seal around the pin is no good.

Oz, I have considered it, and I definitely will, once I get a 3K. I've taken these up to 125 psi, and they're fine, though I wouldn't do that in a war, for safety's sake.

That is really cool. I like it.


Just curious, why didn't you use a barb instead of a twist quick release tubing coupler?

I didn't use a quick-disconnect because there was no space for one. Also, almost all Nerf tubing works well with 1/8" barbs, but certain guns have tubing that is too large to fit in a normal 1/4" quick disconnect. Also, hose barbs are cheap.

Yes, I will be selling these fairly soon. They will be $20 each, plus shipping.

Rather than reviving the 364-day old thread on these, I figured I'd just start a new one.

I finally got around to working on the aluminum 2K tanks again, and this time, I got a prototype to work. As far as I can tell, there are no leaks, but I'm waiting for the epoxy to cure completely before I try using a higher pressure.

Pictures:


As you can see, the epoxy got a little smudged in a few areas, so it's not as good-looking as it could be, but it's just a prototype. The final version will be threaded.


The hose barb is also epoxied in. This will most likely not change. The plug that holds the O-ring in is delrin instead of aluminum in this version, simply because I was out of aluminum. This forced me to run a bead of CA glue around the edge of the plug, since there was a slight leak. The white stuff around the stem on the back is overspray from the CA activator I used. I'm pretty sure it will wash off.


I used a faucet washer rather than an O-ring to seal the front end of the valve this time. It has not given me any issues whatsoever.

I posted a video of it on Youtube for your viewing pleasure.

Alright, but it could be a month or so before I have a design that I'm happy with.

I will definitely be commissioning one or five of these off of you. When you try your hand at replicating an SM5K tank, you will be rich!!!!

Awesome! Heh, if you can get me the dimensions of a SM5K tank, that will definitely be my next project.

Alright, sounds good. I ordered 2' of the aluminum yesterday, which is enough for ~12 valves. Assuming I get them done in time, I'll bring them to 'geddon to sell. They're $20 each.

Nope, it's all based on the orifice at the front of the tank, the diameter of the plug, and the overall volume of the tank itself. In the current prototypes, I'm using a '1/2"' faucet washer, which is really closer to 7/8" at its widest point. Eventually, I'll get some smaller ones that are more comparable to the ones in actual AT2K tanks, so that the flow is improved.

It requires next to no lubrication. I generally add a little bit of silicone to it, just in case, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. The pull is a little harder than that of a normal 2K, but not significantly so.

IMPORTANT EDIT: Well, crap. My metal hasn't arrived yet. It's unlikely that I'll have 10 tanks at 'geddon. Hopefully, I'll have at least three or four, but there are no guarantees. There should be at least one, along with the two prototypes, for your viewing pleasure, and I'll be taking orders as well.

Actually, I like it, if only because I happen to like Atmel microcontrollers quite a bit. This LCD display looks like it could be quite useful for this project. You will need around 11 I/O pins, though, so you'll obviously need a larger microcontroller.

May I suggest a PicAxe chip? They are psychotically cheap, and they use BASIC-esque language, and come in a nice variety of pin ammounts. If you are willing to do a bit of shell cutting, you could probably fit the ### LED display in where the LEDs are now, but you'd need two display units to get double digit numbers.

ATTinys and the rest of the AVR series is generally less expensive and more powerful than a PICAxe, and they also come in many sizes. C is not hard to learn (as I'm sure the OP knows), and is a much more useful programming language than BASIC.

This is the more current SoCal Facebook group. We primarily use the group for event invites, as the page didn't allow that at one point. As you can see, it's not terribly active.

I think that if you wanted to sell any 3d printed stuff that requires a seal, you should look into vapor polishing. Blasterparts.de sells a 3d printed centurion kit with a new barrel and mag adaptor that I think are vapor polished to make the seal with the dart. Just figure out a way to make a smooth surface like vapor polishing, or as you already mentioned, smash brass in the barrels, to get that seal.

Keep in mind, of course, that vapor polishing requires you to use ABS or a similar thermoplastic that's soluble in acetone. PLA is not, and you cannot get good results with ABS without a heated print bed.

If you have a design file then it would be fairly cheap as I said I am not trying to make money. But I sometimes use my friends printer which is a Zcorp Z650 and is very expensive and much nicer than mine if you want it to be stronger, so he has to charge me when I use it.

You do know that ZCorp printers print in plaster, and that the parts that come out of them are not intended to be functional models at all, right? They're designed to print a full-color scale model of something you designed, not a part that can be used in a mechanical device with any sort of strength or durability requirements. They are really cool machines in their own right (basically inkjet printers that deposit ink into the plaster to bind it locally), but plaster models would not last very long at all for nerf purposes.

I'm mostly confused as to why you're charging a premium on first-runs, as there is no real setup time involved in printing, other than the few minutes it takes to run the model through a slicer and generate the code for your printer.

Seeing as this is an Official Recap Thread, I guess I should post my Official Recap as the only representative from SoCal.

Not too shabby. It was neat being able to see the faces behind the usernames for the first time. I suppose I'll do a pro/con list like everyone else did.

(Sort of) ranked in order of most to least important, I think:

+ Meeting the LGLF/Sex Dwarves
+ Singled 2K worked extremely well against hoppers
+ Selling aluminum stuff (IMPORTANT: detail about the 2K tanks below, for those who got them from that batch)
+ 3-Team VIP and the subsequent deathmatch
+ Freeze-tag
+ Buying 3 more 2Ks from TED

- New Jersey
- Slugs (had to say it)
- The fact that it was an East Coast war
- Heat/Humidity
- That first deathmatch round where pedestrians kept interrupting us and I didn't know how my gun worked with slugs

Note about the 2K tanks I sold. I pressure tested all of them to 120 psi three times before I left. Today, Lucian decided to pump one up, and the halves separated. We did it to another one, and the same thing happened. The other 4 or 5 remaining tanks had no issues when we tested them. If you have this issue, PM me, and I will either help you fix it, or I will give you my shipping address and cover the cost of shipping both ways to fix or replace it. I stand by my craftsmanship, and as LT DAN ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!! can attest to, I am more than willing to do what I have to in order to satisfy my customers.

Well maybe if you weren't so busy blowing Lt Dan in the forest you would've had a better time? Im not really sure what is so terrible about the war and the people I nerf with that you felt you had to remark about it twice in your 'cons' column. If you were expecting things to be awful on this side of the country, and Apoc lived up to your expectations, then why did you even come out in the first place?

To clear things up, I wasn't complaining about the war itself or the people there. No, I do not like being stuck using slugs, but I complied, as that's the war organizer's choice and I understand the reasoning behind that decision.

The complaint about it being in New Jersey referred more to the heat and humidity, which were absolutely horrendous.

I suppose the reference to it being an "East Coast war" went over your head, as that's something we joke about here when rounds degrade into long-range standoffs.

I definitely had a good time. I had no issues with the people at the war, or even how it was run. It was definitely a new experience for me, as we tend to run things differently in SoCal. That's not to say I didn't like it, and I certainly wasn't expecting to have an awful time. Apoc did, however, live up to my expectations in that it was fun meeting new people and trying out a different style of play. I do maintain my preference for SoCal Nerf, but I definitely want to come back to Apoc next year, if at all possible.

And no, I didn't blow Dan in the forest.

That was...wet. Very, very wet.

Pros:
-Seeing some awesome people again, and meeting others for the first time
-Freeze tag (and lots of it)
-VIP
-Nothing of mine broke, for once

Cons:
-The weather, as always
-Not having a change of shirt, shoes, or socks
-Pumpbows were not ready in time

I am still really sore from that. Definitely worth getting soaked in both rain and sweat for the experience, though. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it out there again next year, schedule permitting. I'd really rather not go through the whole "I'm going to build a whole bunch of pumpbows to fund my trip" thing again, so I need to figure out how to leave for school 2-ish weeks early next year.

I'll try my best to make it out there again, but I'm currently a maybe pending money for a flight and whether I can take the following Monday off from work. I will not make the mistake of commissioning a metric fuckton of homemades a month before the war like I did last year again. A few aluminum LS boltsleds might pop up for sale at some point, since $9/hr as an adjunct assistant professor for 25 hrs/week is not really enough to cover a $600 round trip flight (that's ~2.7 weeks of work). If not this summer, I'll be a definite next year, because I'll be living in Troy over the summer unless something drastic happens between now and then.

EDIT: Sorry guys, I won't be there this year. Blame Compton College for paying their faculty jack shit.

I've been trying to contact a member here numerous times, through PM, and on the forums. For some reason, the Sent folder on my control panel doesn't show that I've sent him any PMs, when I've tried twice...

Does anyone know what's going on?

The "sent" folder has never worked for me, but people have received my messages. You'll just have to trust that they've been sent.

That was sooooo Effeminate...

Pros:
Meeting lots of people
Buying another AT2K from Blue
Playing 5 team deathmatch
Watching Flaming Hilt wield his Manta
Overall awesomeness

Cons:
Leaky AT2K (hmmm...)
The heat
Getting slaughtered during the first Sword-CTF round

EDIT:
My friend and I WILL be going.

Well, the 2nd or 9th would be best for me (especially since that's right around my birthday, and my mom will be more willing to drive me).

Out of curiosity, do glasses count for eye protection?

Typically, yes.